Managers will always tell you they hate international break – with good reason too.

They hate the disruption it causes to their training plans, they hate spending their nights worrying about injuries to key players, they hate the waiting.

For Jurgen Klopp, taking over at Liverpool in the middle of such a break, the wait must have felt even more irritating. After the hype and hysteria surrounding his arrival on Merseyside, a lull. No game, and only a shadow squad with which to train.

The bulk of his first-teamers are now back at Melwood, as preparations for Saturday's trip to Tottenham are stepped up. Other seniors will return on Wednesday.

So too will a young duo who could go on to play a huge part in the club's future – both short and long term.

Joe Gomez and Jordon Ibe, teenagers both, have already caught eyes at Anfield. Both started this campaign in Liverpool's starting lineup, and both are tipped as big prospects.

For Klopp, a manager who would regularly field a team with an average age of around 22 while at Borussia Dortmund, such talent will be manna from heaven.

What then, if anything, will he have learned about his precocious young pair here, at a mundane U21 qualifier against Kazakhstan at the Ricoh Arena?

He's a renowned motivator, Klopp. And one of his early projects, you feel, will be to restore the confidence of this young lad.

He's not alone at Anfield, but it has been a difficult few months for Ibe. Having started the season in the Liverpool team, his form has dipped noticeably since.

No great surprise. After all, at 19 few players are the finished article. Remember Raheem Sterling suffering a similar drop off in late 2013, before picking up spectacularly thereafter?

Ibe, in terms of talent, is capable of making similar strides. He has speed, strength and the ability to use either foot to a high standard. At present, though, he looks a player in need of guidance – an arm round the shoulder, rather than a kick up the backside.

There were promising moments here but, against such obviously limited opposition, not enough of them. At times there were too many touches, at times the ball was released too quickly. Plenty of times, he worked (or ran) himself into promising areas, only to fail to find a final pass.

There were bright moments, but at times it felt like he was playing a game apart from his teammates. When England brought on Duncan Watmore 20 minutes into the second half, it was no great surprise to see Ibe making way.

It would be premature (and harsh) to suggest that Ibe is heading backwards, but there is no doubt that he could benefit from some gentle encouragement, and some reminders that, in terms of potential, there are few better teenagers around.

And in Klopp, there are few better coaches for a young talent to have. With Ibe, he has found something to work on, for sure. The youngster's development over the coming weeks and months may tell us just how good the German's man management skills are.

With Gomez, meanwhile, Klopp's task looks a little different. The main issue, one feels, will be finding a way to give the young defender the opportunities he will need for his development

The 18-year-old, like Ibe, began the season in the team, and impressed with some assured displays.

Those, though, were at left back, and it is clear that Gomez's future is not there – he looks infinitely more comfortable on his natural side.

Here, he got the chance at right back, starting behind clubmate Ibe.

He impressed, too, albeit against not much by way of an attacking threat. Clever in reading when to press and when to hold, Gomez's reading of the game was sharp and his use of the ball good. Happy to play a support role initially, he was soon showing his ability (and the confidence) to carry the ball forward and deliver quality into the penalty area.

It is known that Dortmund, throughout Klopp's final two years at the club, were alert to Gomez's emergence at Charlton. They would, had Liverpool not come calling, have firmed up their interest back in the summer.

Klopp, then, is well aware of his potential. Though with Nathaniel Clyne likely to remain first-choice right back, and with the centre of defence hardly the ideal place to learn the Premier League ropes, it will be interesting to see how many chances Gomez gets to make his mark on the first team in the next few weeks, when Klopp will be keen to get to know his players, and establish his strongest team.

He would not finish the game here, forced off 10 minutes from time after an innocuous tangle near the corner flag.

Klopp and Liverpool will hope the injury is nothing serious, for the Londoner continues to look a true prospect. No wonder Gareth Southgate rates him so highly.